Miami Heat is just glad to be back in the Eastern Conference Finals, but will have to face a tougher opponent, the Boston Celtics. Before these two teams qualified for the conference finals, they both showed an outstanding performance. The Heat had a tough journey going to the Eastern Conference Finals, needing to play in the play-in. As for the Celtics, they faced a tough opponent with the 76ers being led by this season’s MVP. When it comes to the Eastern Conference finals, the Heat and the Celtics are actually familiar with each other. In fact, this will be the third time in the last four seasons, that these two teams meet in the Eastern Conference Finals. It was the Heat who won in the Bubble, while the Celtics were victorious last year. This meeting will be on May 18, 2023, at 8:30 AM (GMT+8), with the Celtics as hosts.
Miami Heat
The Heat have come a long way this conference, from playing in the play-in round, then qualifying for the conference finals. They have been incredible in the postseason, starting by defeating the mighty Milwaukee Bucks in that round. In the semi-finals, they faced the New York Knicks, proving that they are a capable team despite being underdogs. The Heat will now rely with their veterans, Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry, and Kevin Love to do wonders in this series. Erik Spoelstra believes that their win in their series against the Knicks bring them closer to their goal this season. Fortunately, their starters have been consistent during the postseason. Additionally, aside from their starters, their bench players are also stepping up. Their teamwork have been the key to their success this season, and are hoping for the same thing here.
Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo continues to lead the Heat with 31.1 points and 18.1 points per game each. Tyler Herro, who is the Heat’s third best scorer remains to be unavailable due to his injury. Victor Oladipo is also unavailable here, as he had a patellar tendon surgery.
Boston Celtics
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The Celtics on the other hand had a tough journey as well, as they need to face an MVP-led squad in the semis. They had a bottleneck match in Game 76, but all thanks to Jayson Tatum, they were able to score a victory. He has been monstrous in that match, scoring 51 points, setting a new Game 7 record in the league. On that Game 7, they dominated their opponent in the 3rd quarter, scoring 33-10, which gave them the victory. Tatum was relieved that they were able to get the Game 6 of that series, or their campaign would be over. In Game 6, he was shooting horribly, missing 14 of his first 15 shots, but he is thankful to be able to bounce back in Game 7. Just like the Heat, they are also fortunate to receive contribution from their bench , which they should take advantage of.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown continuously lead the Celtics with 28.2, and 24.6 points respectively. Aside from Danilo Gallinari, the Celtics are fortunate that they do not have a fresh injury concern, that may affect their chances here.
Prediction:
Boston Celtics
Total Under: 109.5
Odds: 0.96
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